Quote ="puroresu_boy"Would like to say I am surprised but I'm not.
As soon as they announced it I was skeptical it would be enforced.
What is really shocking is they couldn’t even enforce the ruling for 1 week let alone a season.
The refs have put themselves into a hole now as when they do make a ruling for an incorrect PTB its going to look stupidly inconsistent as they are simply picking and choosing when to let it go and when not too.
What should have happened was on Thursday the very first incorrect PTB should have been penalized and then the players and coaches would have understood this was serious and it was time to fix up but no the ref just decided to ref his own game where the rules do not matter.
Still least the NRL is back soon and the refs there actually do attempt to implement the rules.'"
I’d go back further than game 1. The pre-season friendliest were the perfect time to clamp down. Blow for 40 penalties if need be in pre-season friendlies, then there’s no real impact on results etc, but the message to the clubs is ‘this is the new standard, get it right in time for round 1, otherwise you’ll be getting hammered again’.
And if they don’t play ball and try to outlast the refs in a game of will, then introduce fines for the clubs - if your team is penalised more than ‘x’ times in a game for incorrect play the balls, you’ll be fined, and the fines will increase for multiple offenders.
Grow some balls as a sport. We should have minimum expectations, and if the players clubs can’t meet those expectations, hammer them.
